Workshop on Gender Equality: Support to Women Entrepreneurship in Turkey Women Entrepreneurship in Europe: A Challenge and a Commitment. Policies and Best.

Workshop on Gender Equality: Support to Women Entrepreneurship in Turkey

Women Entrepreneurship in Europe: A Challenge and a Commitment. Policies and

Best Practices

Workshop on Gender Equality:

Support to Women Entrepreneurship in Turkey

Organised by the European Union in co-operation with the Union of Chambers and CommodityExchanges of Turkey – TOBB

Presentation of Ruxandra Boros


Summary

Women Entrepreneurship in Europe:

A challenge A commitment by Governments Gender stereotypes and their impact on

female entrepreneurship Policies and Best practices On-line resources


A challenge

Women entrepreneurship in Europe

• Women’s employment rates are getting close to those of men (58% vs 65% in 2007)

• Yet only a third of the entrepreneurs are women, a

proportion maintained over the last years that seems unlikely to change in the near future

• « What are the factors that preclude women from becoming more entrepreneurial »?


A challenge

Women entrepreneurship in Europe

Women still face discriminatory laws, policies and cultural practices. Notably, research shows that female entrepreneurs find accessing capital, contracts and markets more difficult than their male counterparts.


A challengeWomen entrepreneurship in Europe

In every country, the employment rate of women is lower than that of men, without any significant differences between the East and the West of Europe

What consequence for women entrepreneurship?

low human and social capital for women


A challengeHow are Women entrepreneurs different from Men?Women seem to have less « capital », which affects

negatively their entrepreneurial propensity and performance

Financial capital

Human capital (education; work experience)

Social capital: business contacts, networks, family social capital (GEM Turkey research , 2007)

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A challenge• Several factors predict a lesser entrepreneurial involvement

of women as compared to men: for instance women’s more limited access to various forms of capital and resources

• These factors are determined by women’s position in society – which of course may differ more or less widely from country to country – and imply the existence of gender segregation: e.g. in the labour market

• The EU as well as member countries have programs to combat gender stereotypes, will this impact women entrepreneurship development?


A commitment in Europe• Supporting women entrepreneurship is on the

agenda of the EU and its member states (ex France, 2008)

• EU aims to foster the entrepreneurial mindset (Oslo

Report 2006) through education and learning– Lisbon strategy proposes to reinforce entrepreneurial

education– EU Parliament and Council suggest that entrepreneurship

is a competence for all


Women entrepreneurship: characteristicsType of entrepreneurial activity (early stage vs established

businesses)

• Entrepreneurial activity varies widely across countries both by level and type

• Regardless of gender, entrepreneurial activity is higher in low/middle income countries than in high income level countries

• A gender gap exists for early-stage/established entrepreneurs – greatest in the high income countries where men are 2 times more likely than women to start a business. Cultural values impact mostly early stage entrepreneurship


Women entrepreneurship: characteristicsSectoral distribution and growth potential

• Women entrepreneurs are active mostly in consumer-oriented activities

Demographic and economic factors

• Age: 25-54 younger in low income level countries• Work status: employment matters regardless of

gender and country group: it provides access to resources, social capital, ideas

• Education: impacts access to employment• Income: employment seems to matter most


Women entrepreneurship: FRANCEComparison between 2002-2006

• 92,000 enterprises by women : 28.6% (+10.3% women head of business); up 50% vs 2002

• Company profile: 45,000 services (49%); 36,000 retail trade (39%) • Motivation:: self-employment vs business development; less

employees than men• Start-up: Up-front investment: 1/3 of women less than 2,000 E vs 1/5

of men; women ask for more support than men; were less helped by suppliers/clients/employers; had less problems than men to access credit!


Gender stereotypes

How do gender stereotypes impact women entrepreneurship?

Gender Stereotypes are generalisations on what is expected of men and women in a specific social context

They are over-simplified ideas of the differences between women and men, their skills, psychological attitudes, ambitions and behaviour

Judgments based on this generalizations may initially appear to save time and energy…


Gender stereotypes

Gender and graduates• Men represent only 20 to 27 % of graduates in occupations

concerned with the social services, health and education sectors

• Women represent between 60 and 70% of graduates in occupations related to the training of teachers, and the behavioral and social sciences

• Women are between 15 and 30% of the graduates in occupations concerned with commerce and administration, the manufacture and treatment of materials, mathematics, statistics, and transport


Gender stereotypes

Gender and sectors of employment

• 77% of those employed in education and social services are

women, including between 82 and 84% in Eastern Europe, and between 67 and 75 % in Western Europe

• 62% of those employed in agriculture, hunting, forestry and fishing are men, 58% in Eastern Europe and 66% in Western Europe

• 34% of those employed in manufacturing industry are women: 40% in Eastern Europe, 28% in Western Europe


Gender stereotypes

Gender and sectors of employment: Conclusion

Women’s work is highly concentrated in the education and social services sectors

Men dominate in sectors such as construction, the production and distribution of electricity, gas and water, and in manufacturing industry


Gender stereotypes

…In reality gender stereotypes fail to capture individuals’ traits and abilities

The Eu has identified the persistence of stereotypes as a root cause of gender

imbalances and of labour market inefficiencies


Gender segregationGender stereotypes lead to the division of work by gender, based on two

major factors, as it has been confirmed after analyzing data concerning women and men at work

Pillar One: Horizontal segregation:

There is a concentration of women’s employment in the same professional occupations, whatever the country or culture concerned


Gender segregationIt has been verified that the horizontal segmentation of

women’s employment is connected with scholastic and university orientation

It is difficult to know whether this is cause or effect: the choice of orientation determines professional choices and gender divisions in work certainly influence the choice of orientation


Gender segregation

Pillar Two: Vertical segregation:

Women are concentrated in the lower or intermediate levels of hierarchies and professions, and are represented significantly less than men at a senior level

This vertical segregation of work, often illustrated by the metaphor of the glass ceiling, is the second pillar of the division of work by gender


Gender segregationDifferences in the remuneration between men and

women are often a result of the conjunction of this double segregation

Whatever the specific historical, political and cultural realities of the member countries of the European Union, horizontal and vertical segregations constitute the two mechanisms of the system of the division of work between women and men


Room for change?

Recent Statistics in Europe

• 59% of new universty graduates are women• 80% of students in business administration are

women

What consequences for women entrepreneurship?


Women Entrepreneurship: ConclusionsIt appears that women who are employed and have built a

social network of entrepreneurs are more likely to become entrepreneurs and to succeed in their business

The social and economic benefits of working are driving women’s entrepreneurship more than increased education or household income

Women’s level of optimism and self-confidence in starting a business is highly influenced by the culture and social norms of their native countries


Policies and Best Practices

1. “The Guarantee Fund for Women”, a French government initiative to support women entrepreneurs

1. “Women and Entrepreneurs”, a program of Advancia, the entrepreneurship school of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Paris

1. The European Women Lobby, group on “women entrepreneurship”


Best practice in France: FGIF

The Guarantee Fund

For Women (FGIF)of the French Government, SDFE

to support:• Start-ups• Take-overs of existing businesses• Enterprise development

« A loan for women, a

guarantee for the bank »


France: The Guarantee Fund for Women

Why this fund?A partnership between the Government and female

entrepreneurs• to support businesses by providing up-front capital

• Implicitly to help the creation of wealth and jobs

Women ask for less funding when creating their enterprises

but

Investing sufficiently at start-up level

= ensures business sustainability



Fund’s aim

Give women entrepreneurs

access to bank financing without

engaging their personal funds

« Your project is very interesting,Mrs Dupont, if only Mr Dupont were here… »



Credits can be used to finance:

• Up-front capital • Working capital

Duration of credit guarantee 2 to 7 years

Credit amount > 5 000€


France: The Guarantee Fund for Women Characteristics of the guarantee: take away the bank

risk• Maximum amount guaranteed: 70%• Guarantee amount limited to 27 000 €• The cost of the guarantee to the company = 2,5 % of

guaranteed amount• In case of failure, 25% of the capital loss is paid to the

bank• France Active Garantie – FGIF agent since 2002 –

pays the remainder• The Social Cohesion Fund provides the funds

.



Organisation of FGIF

3 major actors are involved: – SDEF (service for Women Rights and Equality) as

leader – France Active and its network of territorial Funds

(association and financial institution) as manager – France Initiative and its network of

« Platesformes » under the lead of SDFE



The three actors work together in general

to foster women entrepreneurship

=> two framework agreements have been signed, covering three axes:

1. Promote enterprises created by women vis-à-vis financial institutions

2. Provide business support services to women entrepreneurs

3. Develop the entrepreneurial spirit in women



FGIF: a growing financial mechanism • Constant increase in the number of gurarantees

issues over the last 4 years :

- 195 en 2004

- 363 en 2005

- 543 en 2006

- 745 en 2007• In 2006, 90% of the beneficiaries have used

business support services• 884 emplois créés/consolidés en 2007



Future strategy

Expand the pool of women entrepreneurs wishing to obtain the guarantee

=> Continue to increase decentralisation (currently 130 subdelegates)

=> Continue the work in tandem with the business support network

=> Develop closer relationships with the banks Improve the Fund by enacting recommendations

made as part of a beneficiary survey; advertise better the Fund to the public


Women and Entrepreneurs, Best Practice

“Women and Entrepreneurs”, is a training program launched by Advancia, the entrepreneurship school of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Paris (CCIP)

Created in Jan 2008, the program is a practical training aiming to help prospective women entrepreneurs validate their desire to start a business or to take over an existing one


Women and Entrepreneurs, Best Practice• In addition, Advancia operates a Business incubator;

Advancia/Negocia offers several education programs (Bachelor, Master, for international students) in entrepreneurship and trade

• Entrepreneurship courses are also made available throughout other disciplines at the school, such as the executive assistants, event managers programs

• The CCIP has launched in 2008 « The Entrepreneurship Mentoring Institute »


The European Women LobbyThe European Women Lobby (EWL) has adopted in 2007 women

entrepreneurship as one of its five themes for lobbyingThe European Women’s Lobby (EWL) is the largest umbrella organisation of women’s associations in the

European Union (EU). The EWL Secretariat is based in Brussels, but EWL has member organisations in 25 Member States of the EU and in 3 candidate countries

The European Women’s Lobby aims at promoting women’s rights and equality between women and men in the European Union. EWL is active in different areas such as women’s economic and social position, women in decision-making, violence against women, women’s diversity etc. EWL works mainly with the institutions of the European Union: the European Parliament, the European Commission and the EU Council of Ministers


The European Women Lobby

EWL’s Annual Report 2007 lists the recommendations that were put forward by the group on women entrepreneurship. They refer to:

1) Making Women Entrepreneurship possible

2) Making Women Entrepreneurship visible

3) Making Policies Sensitive to Women Entrepreneurship

… a good way to conclude this presentation



1) Make Women Entrepreneurship possible

• Facilitate the access to financing (guarantee funds, credit, equity)

• Support equality between business partners and update directive 1986/613 regarding the status of helping spouses (take women out of the shadows »

• Stress the importance of gender dimension for institutions that promote women entrepreneurship



2) Make Women Entrepreneurship possible

• Ask equal number of candidates women/men for entrepreneurship awards and ensure women entrepreneurs’ participation at trade fairs to make known their existence

• Strengthen linkages with media to combat gender stereotypes



3) Make Policies Sensitive to Women Entrepreneurship

• Ensure women’s presence at strategic places (where business is developed and innovation is made) with the help of women entrepreneurs’ networks = key factor helping women entrepreneurs access knowledge and information

• Ask the future Gender Institute for Equality between Men and Women (based in Lithuania) to compile sex disaggregated statistics and specific indicators and to benchmark good practices concerning legislation and fiscal policies


On-line Ressources: The European Union

Women Entrepreneurship Portal:http://ec.europa.eu/enterprise/entrepreneurship/

support_measures/women/wes.htm

http://ec.europa.eu/enterprise/entrepreneurship/support_measures/women/womenentr_portal.htm

Gender equality:http://ec.europa.eu/employment_social/gender_equality/

index_en.html


On-line Ressources: The European Union

• « Break Gender Stereotypes, Give Talent a Chance » Toolkit for Human Resource Managers and Facilitators, 2008 (EU funded project to combat gender stereotypes)www.businessandgender.eu

• A Road map for Equality between Women and Men 2006-2010 COM (2006)92.


On-line Ressources


On-line Ressources• Advancia, the entrepreneurship school of the

CCIP:http://www.advancia.fr/advancia.nsf/id/FR_Accueil

• The Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM) 2007 Report on Women and Entrepreneurship:http://www.gemconsortium.org/about.aspx?page=special_topic_women

• European Women Lobby:http://www.womenlobby.eu


Additional On-line Ressources:

• Women's Entrepreneurship Development and Gender Equality is part of ILO SEED Programme:

http://www.ilo.org/dyn/empent/empent.portal?p_prog=S&p_subprog=WE

• OECD LEED: Centre for Entrepreneurship, SMEs and local development:

http://www.oecd.org/department/0,3355,en_2649_34457_1_1_1_1_1,00.html


By way of ending

Hoping that this presentation has provided food for thought for the rest of the seminar

THANK YOU!

Workshop on Gender Equality: Support to Women Entrepreneurship in Turkey Women Entrepreneurship in Europe: A Challenge and a Commitment. Policies and Best.

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